Civilizations. Our Societies. There are many aspects as to what makes a civilization thrive and grow to become more powerful. Without these aspects, civilizations of the past, would never have grown. Some of these aspects can still be found in modern day life.
Here, I will explain the different aspects of a civilization and their importance.
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Social structure
Social structure is basically how people were organised in early civilizations. This varied within different civilizations, but the basic idea was still the same: The ruler, the government, or the most powerful at the top, and the least wealthiest at the bottom.
In early India, the social structure was based on caste. Caste was how people got sorted out based on their skills. At the top was Brahmins, or the priests. They were regarded as most powerful as they were thought to be the ones who were most intellectual. Then came the Kshatriyas, who were the warriors and kings. Next, came the Vaishyas, who were the merchants and landowners. After, came the Sudras who were the common people.
In early Egypt, The social structure was based on government. Up on the top was the Pharaoh, who was the ruler of the civilization. The people perceived him as the mediator between the gods, and people. Then came the government officials and nobles. Next came the soldiers of the civilization. Below, came the scribes, who wrote official information. Then, came the merchants, and then the craftsmen. At the bottom of the structure came the farmers and slaves.
But, why do they even need a social structure? Why can’t people just do what they like whenever they like? Well, the social structure helped bring law and order into the civilization. Without it, the civilization would have collapsed really quickly. While some of the social structures were unfair, they gave everyone a place in the civilization.
The social structure of a civilization also helps us infer a lot about the civilization. If the social structure is not proper, we can infer that the civilization is still developing. Also, if the social structure is very disorganized, we can see that the civilization might have collapsed quickly. The status of the people on the social structure tells us how the people were treated back then.
Trade
Trade between people in the civilization was a revolutionary advancement in all different civilizations. The ability to get one thing by giving another helped people get things they needed by giving what they had. This was known as barter trade, or giving one thing for another. This led to people opening markets for trading in mass quantities.
If one person didn’t have much food, but had a lot of medicine, he could trade it with someone who has a lot of food, but not much medicine.
Also, people started weighing objects to sell them. In Egypt, people started selling metals in a unit called deben. One Deben was approximately 90 grams of copper. In this way people in Egypt started selling things like gold and silver too.
Long-range trade routes first started when Sumerians from Mesopotamia traded for the first time with the Indus Valley Civilization. Since then, even more advancements such as the Silk Route have also been put across nations.
The main reason civilizations traded with one another is because some places had more of something, while others had more of another thing. Taking the example of the Silk Route again, Asian Countries traded spices, and grains, while European countries traded gold and other valuables.
From the way these civilizations traded, we can infer how people had specialised jobs according to their skill to have a better impact on the civilization, what type of material each civilization had most, and the alliances these civilizations made with each other as a result of trade.
Writing
Writing has been an essential aspect of how civilizations have evolved. It helped keep record of things, communicate, and keep taxes. So, most civilizations had their own script.
The most powerful people in ancient civilizations knew how to write, while people at the bottom of the social structure didn’t. So, if you wanted to be a part of the government, or get a decent job, you would have needed to know how to write.
Writing in Mesopotamia was engraved on clay tablets, and so was news in Ancient Rome. Ancient Egyptians used papyrus to make a paper-like substance to write on. Also, Egyptians used to write (or carve) on the walls of the pyramids. The most popular ancient script in Egypt was hieroglyphics. It is still found in pyramids.
What we can observe from the way the people had written was how good their communication was, and how they evolved over time.
Architecture
Architecture is basically the monuments, houses, and other buildings that were used by the people. Some of the architecture was religious, while other architecture was just for human use. The architecture was very important as it helped people survive.
The architecture helped modern people figure out how people lived back then. Some monuments still stand, and now are popular tourist attractions. Some of them are still in whole form, but others are still in ruins.
Buildings were made of a variety of materials. In Mesopotamia, the buildings were made of baked bricks. In Egypt, they were made of limestone, and so on. The material that the architecture was built with tells us how people discovered different building materials.
Modern people still can’t understand how the pyramids were created with such heavy stones and with such perfection. In Ancient Greece, the land was thought to be ruled by the gods, so everything was decorated very beautifully. Greek architects followed 3 orders: First was Doric, which was sturdy, and didn’t have much design. Next came the ionic which was designed like a scroll, and was very thin. Then, was the Corinthian, which was most decorated, and had a leaf like texture.
No matter what type of architecture it was, it tells us a lot about the civilization. The temples, and religious buildings told us a lot about the religion that they followed. Also, we can see how houses and buildings have evolved from then and the modern day buildings.
government
How can a civilization run without a government? One of the most important aspects of a civilization is it’s government. Without a government, the civilization would go into anarchy, causing violence. No matter what type of government it was, in every civilization, some sort of government was present.
The types of government in each civilization varied, but again had the same basic idea: A person, or group of people ruling over the land. Some of the governments were similar to what we would call a monarchy. For example, Ancient Egypt was under a monarchy like rule by a pharaoh. This pharaoh had most of the social structure helping him, so he/she was very powerful.
Generally, the top of the social structure was the ruling government. For example, the top of the social structure in Mesopotamia, was the king, and government officials, who were the government of the civilization. On the other hand, in the Indus Valley Civilization, even the King used to believe the gods were the true rulers of their land.
New government systems evolved after the civilizations collapsed, but, from the early government, we can see how they evolved overtime. Some governments were just people who rose to power by force, while others were selected by people
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